Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes
by
Jules M. Seletz
Jules M. Seletz
All rights reserved by Denlinger's Publishers, including the right to reproduce this electronic book, or portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
In the year 2005, Acadians will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the deportation of their ancestors from their beloved country of Acadia. To the numerous generations of Acadians, who developed the Upper Saint John Valley in Northern Maine; who founded the great logging industry of the area during the eighteenth century; who farmed Aroostook County's fabulous potatoes; who gave their lives in the defense of our great country during all its wars; who maintained their heritage, close family ties, and religion; and especially to George and Anna Daigle, whose daughter became my wife in 1985 - to each and every one, I dedicate Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes.
Jules M. Seletz graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1953 as a second lieutenant, and the Chicago Medical School in 1958 with an MD. Following five years of post-graduate training at the Boston City Hospital, he practiced as a General and Peripheral Vascular Surgeon for 35 years.
He enjoyed a 41-year military career in the United States Army, rising to the rank of full colonel, having deployed to Korea as a second lieutenant in 1953 as a field artillery officer, to Morocco, West Germany, Botswana, and finally to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Desert Storm as a military surgeon. Retired from the Army in 1994 while stationed at West Point, Dr. Seletz is now in his sixth year as a physician surveyor for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations - JCAHO.
JCAHO is the nationally and internationally accepted accrediting body for the Healthcare industry. For the past four years, Dr. Seletz has had several occasions to survey hospitals who have experienced untoward incidents, mishaps, catastrophic outcomes - sentinel events.
Dr. Seletz lives in Lincoln, New Hampshire, in the heart of the White Mountains where he enjoys skiing and mountain hiking with his wife of Acadian heritage. Together, they have seven children and ten grandchildren. In addition to Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes, he has also written three novels that involve sentinel events, and a quartet of historical fiction that mirrors his own life during the twentieth century including his father's emigration from Russia at the turn of the last century.
When residents of Lincoln, New Hampshire, learned that Dr. Seletz had written a novel describing the establishment of Fort Kent, Maine, in Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes, they asked, "Why not one about the establishment of Lincoln, New Hampshire?" Early into researching the history of the area, he discovered the formation of this mill town back in 1892 to be fascinating. So an historical fiction novel, describing this, with a background of United States history, was born, entitled Lincoln Logs.
Did you know that Nova Scotia was once Acadia? That Prince Edward Island was originally Ile St. Jean. And Cape Breton was Ile Royale? It begins with the Seven Years' War -- the French and Indian War -- and ends with the Korean Conflict, 200 years later.
Throughout the United States, Acadian is not exactly a household word. Unknown to most Americans, Acadia was once a country in the region now occupied by the Canadian Maritime Provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Acadians immigrated to this area from France during the seventeenth century.
Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes describes the plight of the Acadians following expulsion from Nova Scotia during the French and Indian War in 1755 and their survival in Northern Maine until 1955.
This 200-year odyssey covers two centuries of United States history, including the settling of the Upper Saint John Valley and the establishment of Fort Kent in Northern Maine; assimilation of Native Americans into present day society; all the wars from the War of Independence to the Korean conflict; Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties; the Great Depression; and finally, the Fabulous Fifties.
The title of the novel signifies three overwhelming influences on the Acadians: the lumber industry, potato farming, and a staple Acadian food - buckwheat pancakes.
During the first ten years of my new marriage, I learned about Rilda's background and ancestry. I became enamored with the history of the Acadians and discovered that very few unrelated Americans knew about this proud people. Most never heard of Acadia. Few knew how Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island came to be.
After numerous conversations with Rilda's family members, and after reading several books about the Acadians, I felt compelled to document their plight in the form of an historical fictional novel. Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes was born when I was retired from the United States Army in 1994. During the summer of 1998, my research was finalized with a three-week drive through Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, Canada, with a camera in one hand and a tape recorder in the other.
It is only fair to mention that I recently discovered a dust-covered box of books owned by Mary Sylvester - a dear friend and comrade of Rilda's mother - who had apparently read everything she could acquire about northern Maine. I was astonished to find a book autographed by its author - Helen Hamlin - published in 1948 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Although written in an entirely different style, and long before I had selected a title for my own novel, I was able to use it to verify some of my historical research. Fifty years prior to the birth of this novel, Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes, Helen Hamlin entitled her book, Pine, Potatoes and People - a remarkable coincidence.
Travel with me from 1755 for two hundred years; through America's wars; into the logging industry of the northeast United States; along Maine's famous potato farms; to the twentieth century, when descendants of the Acadians ignored the Roaring Twenties only to be devastated by the Great Depression of 1929.
Discover how eleven generations of family unity were preserved through love of religion, language, and customs. See how they persevered - with grit, determination, and ingenuity. Understand why this old retired military surgeon fell in love with the Acadians, especially one of their descendants - Rilda Marie Daigle.
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